Make your own margarine at home

Since its humble beginnings in France in the 1800s, margarine has always used the simplest of ingredients to bring flavorful, well-balanced delights to every family table. Ask how margarine is made and you’ll be surprised that it can be made with only five ingredients. These include natural vegetable oils, milk, lemon juice, egg yolk, and salt. And believe it or not, making margarine on a larger scale is no more complicated.

More about the essential ingredients of margarine

Before we figure out how to make homemade margarine, we’ll take a closer look at the main ingredients of margarine.

The first is a blend of nature’s best vegetable oils, such as soybean, sunflower, rapeseed, and palm or coconut oils. All these oils have essential fats that the body cannot produce, so they play an important role in the daily diet of any person.

The second ingredient is water. Normally, water makes up one-fifth of regular margarine, but it could be more in low-fat or light spreads. The water content of margarines also differs from brand to brand.

Third are vitamins. In 1925 someone first had the bright idea of ​​adding even more goodness to margarine. Today you will find vitamins A and D in all tubs of good quality margarine. Vitamin A helps support normal vision and healthy skin, while Vitamin D strengthens bones and teeth.

Margarine is also made with emulsifiers and preservatives. And while the word ’emulsifier’ might sound a bit scary, it’s actually quite a friendly thing. Lecithin is a natural emulsifier found in foods like egg yolks. It is excellent at helping oil mix with water and keeps margarine smooth and spreadable day after day. To help your margarine stay fresh, citric acid or lemon juice is added to make each pot last longer.

Last but not least, there is a little bit of salt. Salt has been used to preserve and enhance the flavor of food for thousands of years. But today, all good margarines have enough salt to enhance the flavor.

Now is your turn

Making margarine at home is very easy. And if you don’t believe us, here’s a simple hand-picked recipe that’s also vegan.

You will need soy milk, vegetable oil, lemon juice, and a food processor. If that is! Start by putting the soy milk in the food processor and let it run for one minute on high. Then add the oil in a slow, steady stream while continuing to process the mixture until emulsified. This shouldn’t take more than two minutes. Next up is lemon juice and if you want to add any other flavors like herbs or pepper, now is the time to do so. Blend your mixture well, turn off your food processor, and enjoy.